Dish Network pushes HD DVRs

Dish Network's CES press conference earlier yielded several changes for high definition satellite customers. First, that its ViP622 DVR receiver will now be available for free as a part of the Digital Home Advantage Program. According to Dish, it's the first HD DVR in the satellite industry available with no upfront charge. What this means for existing customers who have the 622 is unclear. The company also officially unveiled its DishDVR Advantage package, bundling the DVR with the America's Top 200 with local channels and a standard-def DVR for $49.99. The HD version of the package, including the ViP622 and DishHD programming is a $20 per month upgrade, although with discounts new customers can enjoy the HD programming package for the same price as SD for the first 10 months. Of course, the much more interesting news about the new ViP622-1 DVR with MPEG-4 and VC-1 support, a 500GB HDD and the ability to hook up USB drives for extra storage was also revealed during the press conference, we'll have more pics and information on that later.

Update: Dish has updated its press release to state that the program will begin on February 1st.